"Investing political hours—and public dollars—in low-carbon leisure helps cultivate interconnected communities, rebuild the political imagination, and grow a new political base—not to mention helping people survive the climate crisis."
lfg!!
prospect.org/sponsored/th...
"Public pools are a perfect example of the kind of low-carbon leisure we need. But we have always been at risk of losing them as a public good: Municipalities in the mid-1900s attempted to segregate pool use, and white flight ultimately meant that public pool infrastructure was left to languish..."
"The New Deal built 750 pools in five years, along with other infrastructure that built social fabric... A fight for free, accessible public pools—but also air-conditioned libraries, free museums, and community centers—can provide important heat relief and create places of fun connection"
"More free time can also be a climate strategy...There is also ample research that shows that a shorter workweek could limit carbon emissions, while also allowing people to live more fulfilled and balanced lives."
"History shows that these types of leisure-forward campaigns are popular....Daniel Aldana Cohen recounts the story of the Popular Front in 1936 France, a group of social movements that advocated and won a 40-hour workweek, two weeks of paid vacation, and a 40 percent discount on train fares"
On the other site @thetransitguy.bsky.social asks “What's an unlikely train route under 250 miles that you think would actually perform very well?”
My pick: a MD mountains-to-beach line following MARC route from Frederick to DC & then route 50 thru PG county, Annapolis, Eastern Shore, Ocean City.
One of the ways to help make it work:
Let the railway companies own the real estate around their stations, so they have an incentive to 1. rent it out, and 2. make prices low enough to drive use. (This is what Japan does - all the major railways make their money on real estate, hotels, & malls.)
I'm aware there's a carbon footprint to make the book, but that's a one-time deal. The devices we're using to have this fascinating conversation require ongoing carbon input to function.
